Small dried fruit pieces are a popular industrial food ingredient used in a wide range of products including bakery products, trail mixes and cereal products, ice cream and dairy products.
In order to stabilise and preserve fruits, the fruits, or pieces of fruits, are subjected to partial dehydration. However, fruit which is dehydrated sufficiently to prevent spoiling is generally hard with a tough fibrous texture and does not readily reconstitute to a soft acceptable texture. Several techniques are known to obtain partially dried fruits having enhanced softness properties. One such technique is the infusion of partially dried fruits by immersion in a sugar syrup such as a glucose syrup, fructose syrup or corn syrup.
In a further development of the above technique dried fruits may be infused with an aqueous solution containing sugar together with an edible polyhydric alcohol such as glycerol, sorbitol or mannitol, as describe in U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,772 relating to improved shelf-stable breakfast foods.
Infused or candied (i.e. preserved and/or coated with a sugar-containing solution and/or crystalline sugar) fruit or fruit pieces are often sticky and tend to clump together. Such a property impairs the flow characteristics and, thus, the handling and the use of the fruit products. This problem creates difficulties when the treated fruit is used in production operations since special handling to break up the clumps of fruit is required.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,772 proposes to alleviate this problem by dusting the infused or candied fruit products with a moisture binder such as finely ground corn, tapioca or potato starch. However, on standing, clumping and further dehydration of the product may still occur.
Typically, in order to improve the handling properties of such coated products these may be subjected to drying for at least 24 hours in order to obtain a product which is more or less flowing and not sticky. This drying process is very time and space consuming.
WO 94/02026 describes a process for coating candied fruit with a calcium or aluminium alginate or pectate gel to reduce manipulation problems caused by the sticky surface of the fruit. However, this is a complex process involving soaking the fruit in two successive solutions, followed by drying the fruit.
EP-A-584976 describes the use of a calcium citrate compound for coating dried or infused fruit in order to decrease surface stickiness, to improve storage and handling characteristics, to improve storage of the dried fruits in combination with dry cereals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,646 relates to a method of coating foods with an edible amorphous film containing a pregelatinised starch. The film provides a grease barrier whereby fatty foods, which normally exude oils and fats, remain dry and non-greasy.
EP-A-547551 relates to edible films that serve as effective physical barriers to the passage of water, lipid, solute, gas, or microbes into, out of or within foods, pharmaceuticals and other edible products. These films comprises blends of starch, gelatine, plasticiser, water and optionally lipid.
Riedel in Confectionery Production (1996, Vol 62 No. 2, page 86-87) describes precoating of centres by applying precoating agents consisting of starch products, maltodextrins and modified starch. The precoating agent consists of a liquid and powder agent.
EP-A-819387 describes the use of thinned hydroxypropylated starches as coating or precoating composition used in precoating of chewing gum, nuts and other foodstuffs.
Jokay in Food Technology, Institute of Food Technologists, Chicago, US (Vol 21, No 8, 1967, page 1064-660) describes in general terms the development of edible amylaceous coatings for foods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,772 relates to a method of preparing cereal products containing soft, semi-moist fruit and/or fruit pieces in which the cereals retain their crispiness.
There remains a continuing need for new and improved processes for making a free-flowing product from candied or infused fruit products.